The document discusses a low-cost engineering solution for food preservation aimed at farming communities in Nepal, particularly focusing on Sudal village, which faces food scarcity despite surplus crop production. An international team developed a potato preservation technology that can store potatoes for up to six months, utilizing locally sourced materials and efficient design to maintain optimal storage conditions. The project, recognized with the Mondialogo Engineering Award, aims to improve food security and local entrepreneurship while addressing environmental concerns.

1. Food Preservation for Farming
Communities in Nepal:!
A Low Cost Engineering Solution
Shris&
N.
Pradhan
shris&.pr@gmail.com
Vancouver,
Canada
Sep
2012

2. Outline
• Nepal
Agricultural
Background
• Needs
Assessment
in
Various
Villages
• Our
Interna8onal
Team
• Technology
for
Food
Preserva8on
• Mondialogo
Engineering
Award
2009

3. Nepal
Agricultural
Background
• Popula8on:
Approx.
40
million,
Area:
147,181
sq.
km
• Principal
economic
ac8vity:
Agriculture
• Employs
80%
of
popula8on
• Provides
37%
Gross
Domes8c
Product
(GDP)

4. Needs
Assessment:
Bhaktapur
• Sudal
village
in
Bhaktapur:
Village
about
20
km
to
the
East
of
Kathmandu
• Hilly
terrain
and
home
to
990
households
• 94%
popula8on
live
on
agriculture
• Land
is
cul8vable
for
8
months
&
surplus
of
food
especially
maize
and
potatoes
• Land
barren
for
rest
of
the
year
&
shortage
of
food
SUDAL
BHAKTAPU
R
KATHMANDU

5. Needs
Assessment
Priority
Problem:
Food
Scarcity
• Food
scarcity
affec8ng
the
well-­‐being
and
economy
of
the
community
• Potatoes
as
the
main
staple
food
in
the
area
• A
storage
solu8on
enabling
people
to
store
and
preserve
surplus
potatoes
Design
Challenges:
• Avoiding
microbe
growth
and
exposure
to
light
• Maintaining
low
temperature
and
high
rela8ve
humidity
• Keeping
low
construc8on
and
opera8ng
cost

6. Our
Interna&onal
Team
Nepal
Team
Tribhuvan
University,
Ins8tute
of
Engineering,
Pulchowk
Campus,
Nepal
• Needs
assessment
• Prototype
developement
• Prac8cal
implementa8on
of
the
system
Japan-­‐Norway
Team
Tokyo
Ins8tute
of
Technology,
Japan
University
of
Oslo,
Norway
• Prototype
development
• Seek
for
project
funding
sources
• Interna8onal
connec8ons

7. Potato
Preserva&on
Technology
System
Parts
• UV
irradia8on
module
• Food
storage
structure
• Evapora8ve
cooling
module
• Temperature
and
humidity
control
system
Key
Features
• Stores
potatoes
for
as
long
as
6
months
• Less
than
10%
weight
loss
• The
materials
and
equipment
are
mostly
available
locally
• Lible
resources
for
maintenance
• Encourage
local
entrepreneurship

8. Storage
Unit
• Place
the
storage
bin
underground
for
insula8on
• Use
locally
available
materials
for
wall
panels
(e.g.
rice
straw)
• Mul8ple
chambers
for
ease
of
handling
and
sharing
among
beneficiaries
• Cooling
air
distribu8on
important
to
avoid
hot
spots
and
CO2
accumula8on
Perforated
pipes
Air
from
fan

9. Cooling
Control
System
• Uses
microcontroller
system
• Equip
with
temperature
(Ta)
and
rela8ve
humidity
(RH)
sensor
to
measure
the
condi8ons
inside
storage
bin
• Control
fan
according
to
the
temperature
and
RH
inside
the
bin
1. Microcontroller
2. Sensor
(RH
and
Temp)
3. LCD
display
4. Regulated
LED
2
1
3
4

10. Mondialogo
Engineering
Project
United
Na&ons
Millennium
Development
Goals
• Food
security
• Poverty
reduc8on
• Environmental
protec8on
Mondialogo
Engineering
Gold
Award
Winner
2008/09
!!
• Selected
among
932
submibed
project
ideas
from
94
coun8es
• Awarded
with
€15,000
as
seed
funding
for
the
implementa8on
of
the
project
Me
and
Ben
Allan
presen8ng
at
Mondialogo
Symposium
2009,
Germany

11. Thank
You
!